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Senators: VA should do more to help vets vote

Rebuffed by the Department of Veterans Affairs in an effort to have the federal government help hospitalized veterans register to vote, two Democratic senators are planning their next move, which could include legislation to force VA to create a voter assistance program.

Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts are pressing VA to allow volunteer groups into hospitals and nursing homes to help veterans register to vote, but VA is resisting.

In an April 8 letter to the two senators, VA Secretary James Peake said department policy restricts partisan political activities in VA facilities and the department also does not have the resources to be responsible for a large-scale voter registration effort.

The exchange of letters was first reported by Steven Rosenfeld of AlterNet.org.

But Peake acknowledged the importance of voting, and said VA “is establishing additional guidance that will clearly assign responsibility for voter assistance and promote a uniform approach to this important function while maintaining a nonpartisan environment.”

Feinstein chairs the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which oversees election law, giving her a seat from which to launch a legislative effort to force VA to change its policy. However, congressional aides said it is unclear whether such a bill could be passed in time to make a difference for the November general election.

Another approach could be to appeal directly to the White House to issue a presidential executive order requiring VA to distribute voter registration application forms, help patients fill them out and return the forms to state election officials.

Getting President Bush to issue such an order at the urging of two Senate Democrats is unlikely; Republican support would be needed.

Under VA’s current policy, patients who are unable to leave a hospital are provided help in registering to vote and in voting by absentee ballot. Patients who are ambulatory are granted authorized absences to register and vote, as long as their doctors approve. Nonpartisan groups, such as the League of Women Voters, have been allowed to conduct voter registration drives in VA facilities.

Peake’s letter was a response to a March letter from Feinstein and Kerry that asked VA to do more.

“Certainly we all agree it is an insult to those who have fought to spread democracy and freedom overseas to be denied the right to participate in their own democracy here at home,” the lawmakers’ letter said.

They asked VA to take just “a few simple steps to provide voter registration materials” in order to make registration easier.

They had sent a similar letter in March 2007 to former VA Secretary James Nicholson but never received a reply.

The Vietnam Veterans of America and Paralyzed Veterans of America support the Feinstein and Kerry effort.

“As veterans, we believe that voting is not only our right but also our responsibility,” PVA President Randy Pleava said in a letter to the senators.

VA “should serve as an example ensuring that every veteran that passes through its doors is affording the opportunity to register and vote,” he said.

Peake’s response is not what Feinstein and Kerry wanted to hear.

“You would think that when so many people give speeches about keeping faith with our veterans, the least the government would do is protect their right to vote, after they volunteered to go thousands of miles from home to fight and give that right to others,” Kerry said. “Yet we’ve seen the government itself block veterans from registering to vote in VA facilities, without any legal basis or rational explanation.”

Kerry said he and Feinstein will “keep fighting to ensure that veterans aren’t facing unnecessary hurdles just to exercise their voting rights.”